Interannual Variability in the North Atlantic Ocean Carbon Sink

Science ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 298 (5602) ◽  
pp. 2374-2378 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Ocean Carbon

scholarly journals The carbon budget of the North Sea

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Thomas ◽  
Y. Bozec ◽  
H. J. W. de Baar ◽  
K. Elkalay ◽  
M. Frankignoulle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
North Sea ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Carbon Budget ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. A carbon budget has been established for the North Sea, a shelf sea on the NW European continental shelf. The carbon exchange fluxes with the North Atlantic Ocean dominate the gross carbon budget. The net carbon budget – more relevant to the issue of the contribution of the coastal ocean to the marine carbon cycle – is dominated by the carbon inputs from rivers, the Baltic Sea and the atmosphere. The North Sea acts as a sink for organic carbon and thus can be characterised as a heterotrophic system. The dominant carbon sink is the final export to the North Atlantic Ocean. More than 90% of the CO2 taken up from the atmosphere is exported to the North Atlantic Ocean making the North Sea a highly efficient continental shelf pump for carbon.

scholarly journals The carbon budget of the North Sea

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 367-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Thomas ◽  
Y. Bozec ◽  
H. J. W. de Baar ◽  
K. Elkalay ◽  
M. Frankignoulle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
North Sea ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Carbon Budget ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. A carbon budget has been established for the North Sea, a shelf sea of the NW European continental shelf. The air-sea exchange of CO2 has been assessed as closing term of the budget. The carbon exchange fluxes with the North Atlantic Ocean dominate the gross carbon budget. The net carbon budget – more relevant to the issue of the contribution of the coastal ocean to the marine carbon cycle – is dominated by the carbon inputs from rivers, the Baltic Sea and the atmosphere. The dominant carbon sink is the final export to the North Atlantic Ocean. The North Sea acts as a sink for organic carbon. More than 90% of the CO2 taken up from the atmosphere is exported to the North Atlantic Ocean making the North Sea a highly efficient continental shelf pump for carbon.

Mechanisms of Interannual Variations of the Meridional Overturning Circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Cabanes ◽  
Tong Lee ◽  
Lee-Lueng Fu
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
The North ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract The authors investigate the nature of the interannual variability of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the North Atlantic Ocean using an Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) assimilation product for the period of 1993–2003. The time series of the first empirical orthogonal function of the MOC is found to be correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, while the associated circulation anomalies correspond to cells extending over the full ocean depth. Model sensitivity experiments suggest that the wind is responsible for most of this interannual variability, at least south of 40°N. A dynamical decomposition of the meridional streamfunction allows a further look into the mechanisms. In particular, the contributions associated with 1) the Ekman flow and its depth-independent compensation, 2) the vertical shear flow, and 3) the barotropic gyre flowing over zonally varying topography are examined. Ekman processes are found to dominate the shorter time scales (1.5–3 yr), while for longer time scales (3–10 yr) the MOC variations associated with vertical shear flow are of greater importance. The latter is primarily caused by heaving of the pycnocline in the western subtropics associated with the stronger wind forcing. Finally, how these changes in the MOC affect the meridional heat transport (MHT) is examined. It is found that overall, Ekman processes explain a larger part of interannual variability (3–10 yr) for MHT (57%) than for the MOC (33%).

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